GIS has undertaken a long road of development and its importance has been recognised in many areas, especially in education. Nowadays GIS tools are both accessible and affordable. So, if you are a teacher, mentor or trainer interested in teaching GIS in your school or university and to your students, there is some really cool news here to share with you.
ESRI Europe has launched a program called “GIS in School”, which provides a free GIS software for schools, which is designed for teachers who want to provide interactive tools to support the teaching and learning processes therein. As part of the program, teachers will get access to the ArcGIS Online platform, which offers its own secure environment with a free personalized account with a username and password for each teacher and for each student. In addition, you could also get access to Story Maps and other cool tools such as ArcGIS Online where a wide variety of tools and templates can be utilized to visualize data, create maps, perform analyses, and answer complex geographic questions with students.
The program also offers support in developing, preparing and conducting GIS lessons, including “first steps” resources for beginners. Having said that, schools can get additional help via “GeoMentor”- a volunteer program in which professionals in the field of geospatial systems and technologies help teachers in Bulgarian schools to use the full potential of GIS technology in the classroom.
The “GIS in Schools” program is open on an all-year-round basis for all Bulgarian schools. Every Bulgarian school (state, municipal or private) included in the register of institutions in the secondary education system of the Ministry of Education and Science has the right to participate in the program. Any teacher, principal or administrative assistant from the respective school can apply for free participation in the program. Currently, there are 343 schools, 1100 teachers and 10 000+ students involved in the program in Bulgaria. Find out more
Hooked already? Well, why not go ahead and learn more about the “GIS in School” program and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity for your own school.
